Yankees Social Media Spotlight: We’ve made contact with extraterrestrials

It’s Sunday once again, and you know what that means — it’s time for our weekly social media roundup! Over the past week, the Yankees made a number of changes to their roster, letting go of some veterans who were not in the future plans in order to make room for some youngsters who are. Let’s get started!

Aliens are among us

In my mind, there is no better moment in sports than learning that you’re getting called up to the Major Leagues. While getting drafted by an NFL team or an NBA team is certainly up there, in both those sports, the act of getting drafted means that you are a part of the team, and even if you never ultimately get into a game, you can say that you reached the highest level. In baseball, however, getting drafted (or signed as an international amateur) is just the start of the journey, one that can take as long as half a decade to complete.

Earlier this week, two of the Yankees’ top prospects, Jasson Domínguez and Austin Wells, learned that they were joining the big league club when rosters expanded on September 1st. Check out that moment here:

I would add both players’ posts on their own social media about getting called up or recording their first big league hit, but neither player actually use their accounts all that often. I can, however, show you this picture the Yankees posted on Friday night, showing all five rookies that were in the starting lineup against Houston (I really feel for Oswaldo Cabrera, who was the only rookie position player not to play on Friday and who thus isn’t in the picture with all his former minor league teammates).

Luis Gil making his comeback

If you’ve been following the social media spotlight this season, you’d know that we have been following Luis Gil as he has been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Well, as The Martian and Austin Wells made their debuts in Houston, Gil appeared on the mound in a professional game for the first time since last May.

While it’s too late for him to make an impact this season, here’s hoping that he returns to the mound in the spring ready to make some waves.

Banana Ball

To wrap up this week, let’s take a trip down to Savannah once again. This week, the MLBPA alumni team faced the Savannah Bananas, with former Yankee outfielder Curtis Granderson serving as manager. And when you’re managing against the Savannah Bananas, well, you have to dress the part.

As the kids say, that’s a nice fit.

Bader and Donaldson bid farewell

Early in the week, the Yankees released third baseman Josh Donaldson and placed Harrison Bader on waivers. After their departure, both players took to social media to thank the Yankees organization and the fans for their time in the Bronx. As a local kid who attended Horace Mann School at the end of the 1 train for at least six years, Bader’s farewell is particularly heartfelt.

We wish the best of luck to these former Yankees in their future endeavors.